This invention broadly relates to a ball lock punch retainer system, which includes a new and unique checking gage for determining whether the ball lock is properly positioned.
The state-of-the-art for ball lock punch retainer products and systems is shown in earlier U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,181,438; and 5,881,625, the disclosures of which patents are incorporated herein by reference.
For approximately 40 years or longer there has been a significant problem in the field of ball lock punch retainers used in the tool and die industry. This problem involves improper location of the ball lock relative to the punch member, which is held within a punch retainer passage inside of the retainer body itself. On numerous prior occasions within the industry, which involve manufacture and usage of thousands and thousands of ball lock punch retainer products, if the ball lock was improperly positioned such that the lock was too high, or if the lock was too low, then serious problems would occur during actual manufacturing usage of the punch and retainer assembly in numerous different types of die stamping activities, i.e., where the punch members are used to form holes in various types of sheet metal or other metal objects which are being pierced by the punch to form holes or apertures in the metal.
For example, if the ball lock was improperly positioned to high, then there would be the possibility of a serious problem, wherein the punch might be pulled out of the retainer body during the stamping operation, which is very detrimental to proper usage of the punch and retainer assembly. In addition, if the ball lock was improperly positioned too low, then the punch would have a tendency to rotate on its axis, thereby losing the alignment for specially shaped points on the punch, which are used to form a specially shaped aperture or hole in the metal product being stamped. Also, if the ball lock was positioned too low this could cause a fracture of the ball member itself, which typically might cause a breakout of the retainer and a release of the punch member from the retainer body. While the above problems have been present in the art since the conception of the ball lock system, those skilled in the art have had little success in finding a solution to these problems.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new system wherein a ball lock punch retainer assembly can be operated or tested in conjunction with a gage member which will uniquely enable the user of the ball lock punch retainer to ascertain whether the ball lock itself is properly positioned.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and unique ball lock punch retainer/checking gage system.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and unique checking gage, which can be utilized with a ball lock punch retainer system to determine if the ball lock is properly positioned.
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel method of using a specially designed gage member to determine whether a ball lock is properly positioned in a punch retainer system.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new method of using a gage member to ascertain whether the ball in a punch retainer system is too low, too high, or whether it is properly positioned.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the subsequent description, drawings and claims have been reviewed.